434th regular meeting of the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission
This meeting will be held by Zoom and in person at the DEQ laboratory in Hillsboro. Please note that the Zoom information is different on each day.
Special notes for in-person attendees and in-person public forum commenters:
- The DEQ laboratory is a secured facility, so visitors will be asked to provide a government-issued ID and check in at the front desk before being escorted to the meeting space. Acceptable government-issued IDs include a passport, driver's license, state ID, military ID, school ID, Tribal card, government employee ID, employment authorization card, and green card. Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to allow time for the check-in process.
- Additionally, the DEQ laboratory is a fragrance-free workplace, and visitors are asked to refrain from using perfume, cologne, essential oils, scented after-shave, lotion, and other fragrant personal care products.
Location:
7202 NE Evergreen Parkway, Suite 150
Hillsboro, OR 97124
PHL Conference Room
Thursday, Nov. 21, 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
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Find your local number All times are approximate and subject to change. 9 a.m.
Welcome and meeting open The commission will open the meeting and review the day's agenda. DEQ Laboratory and Environmental Assessment Division administrator Lori Pillsbury will provide a brief speech about safety and evacuation in case of an emergency.
9:05 a.m.
Item A: Draft meeting minutes (Action) Commissioners will review and take action on proposed draft minutes from the September 2024 regular meeting and the October 2024 special meeting.
9:10 a.m.
Item B: Marion County's Petition to Amend the Three Basin Rule (Action)DEQ will present a recommendation for commission action in response to Marion County's rulemaking petition, amending Oregon's “Three Basin Rule" to allow a new wastewater treatment plant discharging to groundwater near the North Santiam River.
9:55 a.m.
Item C: Clean Fuels Program Updates Rulemaking (Informational)DEQ will preview a proposed rulemaking to update Clean Fuels Program rules, expected to come to the commission for action in January 2025. The proposed changes are technical and focused on the methods and data sources used by the program to determine the carbon intensity values of transportation fuels used throughout Oregon.
10:25 a.m.
Break10:40 a.m.
Item D: Climate Protection Program 2024 Rulemaking (Action)DEQ will present proposed rules to establish the Climate Protection Program. This is a rulemaking to reinstate a program establishing limits on climate pollution from the use of fossil fuels throughout Oregon. The rulemaking was prompted by a determination by the Oregon Court of Appeals that invalidated the Climate Protection Program rules that EQC adopted in late 2021.
11:55 a.m.
Working lunch and executive session The commission will hold a working lunch and executive session, pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(a), (f) and (h). Per state law, members of the media may attend executive session; however, they may not report on the specifics or details of any discussions or information presented during executive session. To request access as a member of the media, please
email Lindsay Trapp by 12 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024.
1:15 p.m.
Item E: Public forumThe commission will hold a comment opportunity for any environmental and public health issues relevant to DEQ and EQC. Sign-ups to comment will occur shortly before the start of this agenda item, and people are asked to limit comments to three minutes or less. Comment times may be reduced at the discretion of the commission. The commission cannot accept comment on the following proposed items/rules:
- 2024 Total Dissolved Gas Modification Order for the Mainstem Columbia River
- E-Cycles 2024
- Recycling Updates 2024 Rulemaking
- Vehicle Inspection Program Updates 2024
- Wastewater Operator Certification 2024 Rulemaking
- Willamette River Mainstem and Major Tributaries TMDL
2:15 p.m.
Item F: 2024 Total Dissolved Gas Modification Order for the Mainstem Columbia River (Action) DEQ will present the 2024 Total Dissolved Gas Modification Order for the mainstem Columbia River for commission action. Oregon's current TDG Modification Order expired on Aug. 31, 2024. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requested DEQ renew its TDG modification to allow for the anticipated operations to proceed in the upcoming 2025 fish passage spill season.
2:45 p.m.
Break3 p.m.
Item G: Temporary Rulemaking for the Clean Trucks Rules (Action)DEQ will present a temporary rule to pause implementation of the Heavy-Duty Low-NOx Omnibus regulations, and propose a suite of compliance flexibilities under the Advanced Clean Truck regulations.
3:45 p.m.
Item H: Vehicle Inspection Program overview (Informational)DEQ will provide introductory information about the Vehicle Inspection Program, and preview a rulemaking expected to come to the commission for action in January 2025. This rulemaking proposes to formalize remote on-board diagnostics testing through VIP's “DEQ Too program," which partners with private businesses to provide additional emissions testing options to the motoring public.
4:15 p.m.
Adjourn meeting Friday, Nov. 22, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
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Find your local number All times are approximate and subject to change. 9 a.m.
Welcome and meeting open The commission will open the meeting and review the day's agenda.
9:05 a.m.
Item I: Willamette River Mainstem and Major Tributaries TMDL (Informational)DEQ will brief the commission on the proposed Willamette River Mainstem and Major Tributaries temperature TMDL, a project of the court ordered temperature TMDL replacements due to the Natural Conditions Criteria contained in Oregon's water quality standard for temperature. The current schedule for this TMDL is to present the proposed rule to the commission for adoption in January 2025.
9:50 a.m.
Item J: E-Cycles 2024 (Informational)DEQ will preview a rulemaking related to the Oregon E-Cycles program expected to come to the commission for consideration in January 2025. The Oregon Legislature adopted
changes to the program in 2023, modernizing the longstanding electronics recycling program. This program prevents toxins from entering the environment through illegal dumping and diverts materials from Oregon landfills ensuring precious and rare earth metals can be recovered for new electronics.
10:20 a.m.
Break10:35 a.m.
Item K: Recycling Updates 2024 Rulemaking (Action)DEQ will present proposed rules from the second Recycling Modernization Act rulemaking to the commission for consideration. This is the second of two rulemakings conducted by the program to implement the requirements of the Act that was passed by the Oregon legislature in 2021 (Senate Bill 582). Rule topics addressed through this rulemaking include obligations for local government, producer responsibility organizations and producers, standards for life cycle evaluation, PRO reporting, covered products, requirements for recycling processors and permitting and certification, and updates to existing Division 12 rules.
11:50 a.m.
Lunch break1 p.m.
Item L: Wastewater Operator Certification 2024 Rulemaking (Action) DEQ will present proposed rules to update Wastewater Operator Certification requirements. The rulemaking seeks to clarify existing rules and address the growing challenge of ensuring there is a sustainable, certifiable workforce to operate and maintain Oregon's wastewater utilities.
1:45 p.m.
Item M: Director's Report (Informational)DEQ will present written and verbal updates on agency activities and other issues of interest to the commission.
2:30 p.m.
Adjourn public meeting2:45 p.m.
Item N: DEQ Laboratory tour
The commission will receive a tour of DEQ's laboratory. DEQ's Laboratory and Environmental Assessment Division, or LEAD, supports the agency's mission by providing timely, high quality scientific information through water and air quality monitoring, laboratory services and data analysis. Although the tour will be closed to the public, anyone can learn more about this division of DEQ by watching the video, "Where the Science Happens".